


learning to walk on uneven ground

by hotdamnitszuko



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Broken Bones, Disabled Character, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, Minor Sokka/Suki, Other, Past Sokka/Yue (Avatar), So here we are, and i am a sucker for writing characters learning to be confident in their disabilities, i wanna write more in this little au soon, it's not graphic or anything but be aware it's mentioned, so i was watching the finale again and realized how bad sokka really could've broken his leg, this is tagged suki/sokka bc they're dating but it's not centered around their relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-06
Updated: 2020-08-06
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:13:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,401
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25741876
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hotdamnitszuko/pseuds/hotdamnitszuko
Summary: after breaking his leg fighting against the fire lord's army, sokka doesn't bounce back easily from an injury and is left to figure out what his new normal will be like. luckily for him, he's got an army of friends and family that love him to death, and will be there every (sometimes painful) step of the way.or, sokka with a cane and a limp is a really good concept actually.
Relationships: Sokka & The Gaang (Avatar), Sokka/Suki (Avatar), The Gaang & Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 23
Kudos: 219
Collections: AtLA <10k fics to read





	learning to walk on uneven ground

**Author's Note:**

> helloo!!
> 
> this was a commission for my best friend and she said i could post it here to share! i really loved the idea of sokka having to learn to love himself no matter what, because everyone else does, and i'd love to hopefully write more and make this a series at a later date.
> 
> i am not disabled physically myself, so if there is anything in this that is wrong or offensive please let me know as all of the information i have is the research i did and some family and friends who have had (or still have) limps and/or 'bad' legs.
> 
> this is my first time writing for avatar, i hope i did a good job :) if there is something else you'd like to see me write (either for disable sokka or something completely different) my commissions are currently open and you can find more information on my tumblr (@hotdamnitszuko)
> 
> enjoy!

There are things Sokka remembers; his impeccable sand recreation of Suki, Melon Lord Toph going a little over the top with her given role, even laughing at Zuko’s rare use of sarcasm. But there are also things Sokka doesn’t remember as well about the events that almost lead to the end of the world as they know it. 

Which is why he’s sitting here, leg wrapped in the itchiest gauze ever created (seriously, the Fire Nation can’t afford anything better, or is he just that irritable?) and Katara berating him for being so dumb. He doesn’t let her bitter words bother him, the tone filled with as much worry and lacking the anger her words carry just as it had been when he broke his arm trying to climb the ice wall around their village when he was seven. 

Sokka is barely lucid when the palace nurse explains that he ‘has to use the crutch’ and ‘may have some permanent damage’, mostly because of the morphine but Suki’s hands in his hair don’t help much at keeping him awake. His last thought before he dozed off was how he knew he was going to wake up with a small braid instead of his usual wolf tail. 

Apparently, it wasn’t very good that he continued to fight on a broken leg and even went to find the others after Aang had taken down the Phoenix King. How was he supposed to know that, huh? Besides, it didn’t hurt then, not really. (Katara would later explain to him that it was the shock and rush of adrenaline, but he would ignore her because that’s what older brothers do.)

When he’s up next, he can tell he’s alone on his bedroll now but definitely not alone in the room. Before Sokka’s eyes even open, there’s movement around him and a small ‘I think he’s finally waking up’ high pitched raspy whisper. 

“Frankly, I don’t think the dude who got hit with lightning should be so worried about some broken leg,” Sokka speaks up, blinking open to be met with Aang’s face right next to his. “Tui and La- Aang, personal space?”

“Sorry.” He says, at the same time as Zuko mumbles “I caught it..”

“How are you feeling?” 

Sokka mulls over this question for a moment, mostly focusing on trying to wiggle his toes on his left side. It would be very easy for him to lie or make a joke like he’s known to, but even he can’t deny the way worry bubbles low in his chest. “Like I’m ready to get the hell out of the Fire Nation and back home. No offense, Zuko.”

“Sokka, I’m so sorry..” Toph has herself tucked up against a wall on the other side of the room, partially hidden by the thin blanket some palace worker had given out upon Zuko’s request. 

It took a moment for Sokka’s brain to catch up to what she was talking about, a small sad smile coming to his face. “Hey, it was my genius plan to throw us off the side of that blimp, wasn’t it?”

That doesn’t take away the echoing sound of Sokka’s leg and spin hitting the metal walkway, almost indistinguishable from when his sword had hit the moment before he had. That is something she isn’t sure she’ll ever be able to get out of her brain.

There is a beat of silence around the room as everyone's eyes shift down to his now casted leg before looking around at each other. Sure, they’re used to getting hurt. The entire Fire Nation (banished and unbanished members alike) have been trying to kill them for a year now. You collect your fair share of bruises and cuts and scars along the way, but something about the look on their faces shows... something was different this time. They all had their own physical and emotional scars now to deal with, along with different responsibilities than they had twenty-four hours ago.

Zuko would now be the next Fire Lord and have to deal with a family full of prisoners. Toph and Aang would have to decide where they wanted to go next; if they would settle down or continue to travel the four nations. Suki would return to Kyoshi Island and grow the warrior army they had been training. Katara and Sokka would return home to the South Pole, with their father this time, and learn to run a nation. 

They were no longer forced to run, they could relax and live and find safety and love in each other even from all the way around the world. 

-

Sokka really did try his best to rest and use his crutch when he absolutely had to get up, but it’s hard. He was always an active kid, and when you’ve been on the run around the world without a break longer than a couple of days for the last year of your life, it’s difficult to sit by and watch the clouds move.

Especially when his sword is recovered and Zuko has it sent back home to them. All he wants to do is get back out and practice his sparing. He itches for the fight, for the specific tired feeling he would get after practice or a match. The way his arms ached even as they hung at his sides, and how his fingers still trembled a little even after the feeling of sword hitting sword had stopped. Sokka was laid in bed, stuck, and threatened by his sister and dad not to move until they got the okay from the village physician. 

But they could only watch him for so many hours of the day, as they had to sleep sometime. When they had arrived home, there was much to be done with rebuilding the Southern Water Tribe and their new alliance with the three other nations and their sister tribe up north. All of that work often left them tired; emotionally, physically, and mentally. So when the huts were quiet and dark, Sokka took the opportunity to get himself out of his bed and grab his crutches. He is careful to go over already flattened snow, wanting to minimize the crunches that could wake someone up and get himself thrown back in bed.

It used to be a short jog to his spot on the outside of the ice wall, but now it takes him three times as long to get there. Lowering himself down carefully, he lets his crutches rest over his lap and retrieves his knife from his coat pocket. Whittling away at one of the legs, he starts etching at a pattern he had already been working on for the past few days.

The moon is so bright he hadn’t even needed to bring a lantern with him, the white light pouring over him and leaving him feeling as warm as the sun does in the dead heat of a summer day. 

“Happy birthday, Yue..” his voice is gentle, still testing out his volume to make sure he isn’t loud enough to be heard inside the village. He’s been working on that, not being so loud and brash since they returned home.

“You know, I’m thinking of carving a moon onto the handle of this one,” he says fingers brushing along the slightly worn wood “but I don’t think it would do you justice. I mean that. I’m not even making a joke.”

There’s a pause, listening for any noise around but knowing he isn’t going to get an answer. “Suki is gonna come to visit soon... I really miss her. She’s been asking how my leg is doing, and I don’t have the heart to tell her I can’t bend my knee. I think Katara has been sending her updates behind my back though, either that or she’s been writing Aang dumb love letters all the time.”

He chuckles to himself, moving to dig out a specific piece of wood and blowing away the little pieces as he continues to work on his wave pattern. He feels comfortable having a conversation with Yue, no matter that it’s one-sided. Sokka always feels a little pull at his chest on nights like this, when the moon is full and there’s not a cloud in the sky. It’s almost like he has the ocean inside of him and she is pushing and pulling at the tide. 

That’s not something he’s shared with anyone else. Not even Katara knows that, and it’s not like he’s hiding it from her. She wouldn’t make fun of him for it or anything, Katara knows how much he loves Yue, but it’s something too intimate. An act that begs to only be shared between him and his first love. Someday he is sure he will tell Suki, she’ll start to notice if he slips out of bed to look out at the night sky. Sure that she will do nothing more than join him, arms around his waist, and love in her heart.

Eventually, he feels his eyelids getting heavy, and knows it’s time for him to waddle back to bed. As he reaches down carefully for the flap, he takes one last look over his shoulder and offers a gentle smile toward the stars. “I’m gonna be alright. Promise.”

-

Sokka and Katara make their way up to the Fire Nation for some business regarding some trades, but they also go for pleasure (mostly Sokka) and to visit their friends.

By this time, four months had passed between when they took down Zuko’s father and now, and he had since offered some of the Kyoshi warriors a permanent job of watching over the palace. There have been lots of the Fire Nation people that weren’t too fond of the change in leadership, and even less fond of the new Fire Lord being the banished prince himself. Thus, leading to multiple attempts on his life in the last few months. 

Lucky for Sokka, one of those warriors happened to be his badass girlfriend. Unlucky for Sokka, he had forgotten to inform her just how bad his injury still was until the moment they stepped off the boat.

He had been getting better though! Feeling returning to his foot completely after a couple of weeks, able to get down to one crutch in just a month and a half, but his knee was where the main problem was. Even after the cast was removed, even after weeks of physical therapy, his knee wasn’t going to bend properly. Every time he tried, pain shot down his calf and up his thigh, leaving him in a heap on the floor. After a trip to the physician to check that out, he left with the knowledge that his leg was never going to heel correctly.

Sokka had taken the news fairly hard, keeping himself up in bed for almost a week straight without seeing anyone save for when he was brought food and water. It was so hard to come to terms with the fact that he wouldn’t be able to go hunting with his dad much anymore, wouldn’t be able to practice his sparing with Zuko on this trip, and couldn’t as easily jump on a boat and go ice dodging on the days when the sun refused to set.

That was the reason that he had struggled to write to Suki and tell her; because they had gotten together through learning to fight. Their relationship was so revolved around the war and fighting to survive, that even if he knew she loved him, he couldn’t squash the voice in his head telling him everything would be different.

Suki shows no hesitation in throwing herself right into Sokka’s arms the moment he and his sisters' feet hit land, sending his new cane straight to the ground with a thump. 

“..Sokka?” Suki’s voice is confused, crouching down to retrieve the long piece of hand-carved wood as Katara balances Sokka back out. “I think you have some explaining to do.”

But he doesn’t. Not right away, at least. He waits until they’ve greeted everyone and been shown into the palace to their rooms. Then he distracts her for some time by asking how things have been around there, a topic he knows will get her rambling.

“That’s not gonna work Sokka,” her tone is calm and even, but her face shows all of her worry like an open book. She was probably wishing at that moment she had been wearing her Kyoshi makeup for their arrival.

So Sokka spills. He tells her about all of the good stuff, the ways that he has gotten better. But he also explains all of the hardships he’s now going through. How it took him so long to figure out how to get his own pants on without falling over or asking for help. The difficulty he has with pain, especially in the morning or when the weather is bad. Tells her how he will probably have a limp for the rest of his life, unable to walk without his cane or someone’s shoulder.

He hasn’t felt that small since his father told him that their mother had been killed, but at that moment he’s right back in that hut and he’s tugging his snow coat closer and closer trying to fill the void inside with warmth on the outside. 

Instead of a coat this time, when he opens his eyes again after he stops talking, he finds Suki’s arms wrapped around him. She’s got a hand on Sokka’s back, rubbing between his shoulders while her other hand is holding his tightly where they’re folded in his lap. Her legs are beside his, carefully not putting any pressure on his bad one as she presses her weight into him. The feeling of being so completely covered is almost overwhelming for a moment as he adjusts, before his full body relaxing against her. Slowly his head drops to her shoulder and his arms wrap around her middle, feeling her hair brush against his forehead as he sighs deeply. 

“I wish you had told me. I could have come down to be with you,” She whispers, her breath hot on his ear from their close angle. Suki doesn’t give him time to respond, but it’s not that he was going to speak up yet anyway. “Nothing is going to change, Sokka. I’m here, I’m always gonna be here.”

That isn’t true, that nothing is going to change. So much has already changed in his life, and he will only continue to come across struggles every day, but he understands what she is trying to say. So what he holds on a little tighter, just for good measure.

-

The rest of their trip is filled with jokes and friendship as much as it’s filled with business. Sokka playfully yells at Zuko for putting him in a guest room that’s up three flights of stairs, and Zuko gets him back for it by sending a palanquin up to his room the next morning with four large guards to carry him down to breakfast. (Not much carrying is done, in fact, Sokka sends them all away with the threat of sending one of Suki’s women after their heads.) While the boys are arguing like they aren’t officials of the government now, the girls spend lots of time talking about strategy and how best to protect not only the Fire Nation but all of the island islands and villages from any possible future rebellion against the peace they’ve created.

On their last night there, Zuko comes to Sokka after dinner to walk with him. They take it slow, and he doesn’t comment on or mention the few times Sokka has to stop and lean his weight into Zuko after a painful step or two. It feels good to get the muscles moving as much as he can, but he’s still learning where to put pressure on his knee and cane while walking. It’s a seemingly never-ending battle between him and his body.

“How do you do it?” Sokka asks after the fourth time they’ve stopped, choosing to press his back into an old tree trunk instead so that he can look at Zuko as he speaks. What he sees is a look of confusion staring back at him, a small head tilt forming an unspoken question of ‘what do you mean?’

“How do you deal with something you can’t fix?” Sokka continues, looking pointedly at the scarred part of Zuko’s pale skin that disappeared down into the collar of his top. He knows from months of getting to know the formally banished prince that he has trouble seeing and hearing on that side. Zuko told Sokka once that he acted as if nothing was wrong more of the time, so much so that he isn’t sure if many of his family members and the palace workers he deals with every day even know about his own disabilities.

One of his letters to Sokka had described what he goes through. He had told him that everything is blurry in his eye enough that he can only make out shapes, and how he had contacted Toph after everything to ask her some questions to learn how to handle his surroundings better. Zuko had taught himself to subtly tilt his left ear up when people are talking in order to hear all of it. After having this new knowledge at his disposal, Sokka had made a point to face him completely whenever he could when he was speaking directly to Zuko and told the other to do the same.

“Let’s sit,” Zuko speaks up, reaching out a hand to rest on Sokka’s arm as he leads him to a bench beside the pond. The reflection of the half-moon high in the sky is easily visible from the unobscured middle of the courtyard. 

Zuko always took his time when speaking now, wanting to think over his words properly before saying them out loud where he couldn’t take them back. It was a big shift from how he used to say whatever thought popped into his head as loud and as angry as he could manage.

“I don’t think I would fix the problems that I have, even if given the choice.” His warm voice finally fills the cool air. “In my opinion, neither of us have anything to fix. Our lives would be easier if your leg wasn’t broken and my face wasn’t burnt, but these things show that we’ve been through some of the hardest things imaginable and have come out of the other side alive and happy. I know that I can still be loved with how I look or the things that come harder to me than others, and I can show love despite the struggles I’ve gone through. The same goes for you, Sokka.

I don’t think of you as anything less than the brave kid who helped take down my entire ship the day Aang woke up. I wish you wouldn’t have gotten hurt just because I know how bad the physical pain can be, and how long it can last after the fact... I still wake up feeling like my face is on fire... But you got hurt saving the people you love. There is a lot of honor in that, Sokka. You shouldn’t feel shame when you think about your injury, you should feel pride that you’ll always carry that day with you physically every day. I know I do..” he says, reaching a hand up to press over his chest where he had been left a lightning-shaped scar.

By the end of Zuko’s speech, Sokka feels a tear slip down the end of his nose as his head is tilted downward. 

“Spirits, you’ve been spending too much time with Uncle,” the laugh that follows is airy and light, but the hug he pulls Zuko into is anything but that. 

Sokka went to bed that night thinking about his words and found himself drifting off with a smile on his face. Maybe learning to trust and love the moody, overdramatic Fire Lord was one of the best things Sokka had ever done. Maybe his scars could be something he could carry with pride. Maybe, just maybe, Sokka could learn to love his new body, no matter what obstacles showed up in his way.


End file.
